The Cafe at National Coal Mining Museum for England in Wakefield - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

What a great day me and my family had today visiting the mining museum, having worked down pit for almost 30 years , took my grandkids to give them an insight of my career , visit underground brought so many memories( the smell) of the mine , the guide Ross was so informative and funny well done 👏 not worked at pit for over 22 years but met one of my old workmates Andy Clayton who was a Deputy with me who now also a underground guide , would telk anyone to pay a visit great way to see past and latest ways 9f mining , Great day and Great people who work there long may it Continue 👍👏

Brilliant visit with our Grandchildren, particularly the underground tour with Adie our guide.

Great day out, brilliant tour. Hats off to Colin, his personal knowledge and past experience made the visit brilliant. Lots to do there aswell park, cafe and a a lovely nature trail.

On arrival we had to pay £5 for parking that we wasn't told about on the website when we booked tickets to go on the underground tour (which has shot up in price) The food in the cafe that was already cooked in front of you in the cue somehow took 35mins to be served and wasn't very good when it came (A picture of the gougon sandwich has been uploaded) The underground tour was ok but felt rushed because of the tour behind us.

Just had a great visit to the national mining museum in Wakefield. Took my 2 grandsons aged 7 and 13. Parked up £5 per car were made welcome given bands to ride the train and program. Walked down to reception ( we had pre booked our 12 o’clock underground trip) booked in. Boys went in to the play area had some fun then it was time to go under ground. Our guide was Steve and we were a party of 13. Spent just over a hour underground and Steve was great with everyone,he made sure all the children were involved and did not forget us grown ups.

We had a fantastic day with the children. The mine tour lead by Andy was brilliant! He was very informative and great with the kids.

Great day out, over the holidays it's just £5 for a car and the rest is free. The children loved going down the mine with the hats and the lights. We took a picnic and there is plenty places to eat. Lots of things for the children to do great play area. Thera is a very large sand pit and you can see the horse's.

A great day out. Particularly good for children but equally fascinating for adults as well. It's all very well organised from the car parking to the entrance and the tour itself. There's a small miniature train that, for a small fee, takes you from the car park to the entrance and back. You're issued with a hard hat and miners lamp and whisked down to the coal face in the original miners cage. The tour takes around 30 - 45 minutes and you walk around the actual tunnels, making sure not to bang your head as some are very low, luckily your hard hat takes the blunt. The tour guides are very knowledgeable and ours, David, was also very funny. There's a cafe and children's playground also there. I recommend booking tickets prior as group tours are limited so as to fit the whole group in the lift. Whilst it's pitch black in the tunnels with no lights, you use your miners lamp to see where you're walking, so people who are claustrophobic or afraid of the dark might not enjoy it.

Fantastic day out. Did the pot bottom first- 140m down the mine you are taken on a one hour tour by very knowledgeable ex-miners to explain coal mining through the ages. The whole site has loads to see - with helpful staff everywhere. Cafe Latte in the cafe was the best we have had all week!

A great day out, especially with children. It's a very well organised tour underground of the many tunnels and David, our guide, was made it even better with his humour and vast knowledge. There's a large cafe and a children's playground. There's a large car park a short walk away with a miniature train taking people from the car park to the entrance. There's also a large disabled car park close to the entrance. During school holidays they charge £5 to park, but the train ride is free. This is reversed outside the holidays. The tour itself takes around 45 minutes and they give you a hard helmet to wear and a miners torch to hold. The cage that takes you down the mine shaft lasts a couple of minutes. The history of coal mining is interesting, particularly the stories our guide David told us of life underground. I'd definitely book prior as numbers are limited for each tour.

Excellent place to visit and the tour underground was very good..

Great day out. Good value for money. We learnt a lot thanks to Russ our guide who did our tour underground.

Russel was a good tour guide recommend spending the extra and going bellow in the mine

Great place to visit. Friendly staff - lots to see both below and above ground.

It was a Good day out but it was quite expensive to go down the mine and pony’s were good

Had a great trip to the mining museum today really enjoyed the underground tour would highly recommend for all ages and lots of things for children to do a great day out without breaking the bank

Great place with loads to see and do. Had an underground trip that was brilliant, with a great, former miner guide. Need to go back.

Great! A really relevant, historically detailed and engaging North of England attraction. Humorous guide is the real deal (i.e a miner). All three of us thoroughly enjoyed it. Good value too

Great place, Taz our guide was informative whilst also humourous and ensured I was safe throughout the tour with my broken arm in a sling. Plenty of different buildings to go and see

Amazing wheelchair access. I loved coming here so much as it really felt like they cared about making it as accessible as possible. The tour guide Russ Jones was very engaging. Wheelchair users and their group get their own tour down the pit 💕

Went yesterday and took our two 11 year old grandchildren. I just wanted to say what a lovely day out. The tour guide underground was excellent giving information in a entertaining way with stories etc. The gentlemen in the winder room again explained the workings and demonstrated _ excellent. The boys enjoyed the train ride the nature walk. It was lovely to see the boys interacting with the guides rather than at home on their devices. An excellent day out well worth going. Thank you for a lovely day out!

Amazing place and so educational, guided underground tours, our guide 'Mick' was knowledgeable and a great sense of humor, great value for money ,and so much to see,

amazing experience, the guide mick was very knowledgeable and made it a fun tour. i would definitely be going again with the kids.

Ian Joe was our tour guide on our underground experience. He was very knowledgeable humorous and fabulous with the children in the group making our trip very enjoyable.

Amazing day for all ages, so interesting and informative. A full day can be spent there. The kids will love it. The cafe is great and really reasonably priced. Such a friendly environment, you won't be disappointed.

My day didn't go as planned. I had a small accident. I was clumsy and needed first aid. The staff were wonderful. They were kind and caring to me, my husband, and my son. I look forward to going back and seeing all the attractions.

Great experience the underground tour was superb the tour guide Martin Empsall deserves a mention he was a great guide and was terrific with the kids on the tour

Got an unexpected day off work and decided to visit as my wife and I both have close family who used to be miners, we can't wait to come back to see the rest of the museum, so much to see and do, it's an incredible journey through our mining heritage. We travelled down from Durham and we're so pleased we did.

I'm going to be honest here, never had such fun anywhere! Do visit them, they love what they do, you'll hear their lifetime stories and find absolutely amazing people working. Went there thinking it might be another museum experience, but you start getting that welcoming experience right at the beginning when a gentleman explains to you what you're expecting and guides you to park your car and find more on reception. You go to the reception and find more welcoming faces and if you have booked underground (that you should), you'll be taken back in time with a lovely tour guide (ours was amazing Wales man I think Cole was his name). There is plenty of stuff to see, you can have a picnic, there's a children's playing area and so much more. It would be a full day out.

Fantastic day out, supplied wheelchair to go down on the mine. Very knowledgeable, helpful staff.

Great day ,very interesting staff very friendly

I took a group of people from a Care Home today. Three of the residents are wheel chair users. The staff could not have been better from the moment that we arrived. Graham the buggy driver was like our personal chauffeur! Nothing was too much trouble. When we went to see the horses, the ladies there opened each of the stalls in order that the residents could see the horses clearly. This was on a busy school holiday day. I rarely write reviews but I feel that they really need a pat on the back!

Good experience, recommend the underground tour

Fantastic to visit for young and old alike,very informative, plenty of playgrounds etc. for children, wheelchair accessible, cafe on site, excellent.

Decided on a whim to visit the museum today as we were in the area and our only regret is that we did not arrive earlier in the day to see the whole thing. It was £7.50 to go on the underground tour and we managed to get the last two spots available about 20 mins before the tour started. We were seriously impressed. Our guide Steve (15:10 28/7) was fantastic and clearly passionate about his role, knowledgeable and more than willing to answer questions. I would definitely recommend booking this extra as this was the highlight of the whole day. Unfortunately we didn’t arrive until the afternoon so couldn’t see everything but we’ll certainly be back!

Having visited here 20 years ago I joked with my wife how my previous girlfriend had been treated with male staff insisting on at that time placing battery belt around the waist and how mysoginistic the guides were. Well, that was 20 years ago or so I thought. The behaviour I witnessed today was disgraceful. Why do men here insist on putting on guests belts for them? Whilst getting extremely close to females and looking down their tops? Next, the guide was mysoginistic with his "silly woman" type quips. Nothing was a straight answer everything was sarcasm or a bad attempt at a joke. This may have been funny in the 1970s but not today. My wife a doctor felt extremely uncomfortable with the disrespectful remarks. The guide belittled people I guess in an attempt to be the big man. As a trained mines rescue person I was telling my son about various aspects of the pit. Some of which were (later) ridiculed or stated were incorrect ....I hadnt been talking to the guide nor did I know he could hear me! But having been trained in mines rescue I was telling my kids the modern way things were done not what may have been done 30 years ago! I didnt mention this or argue with the guide but he was wrong to bring this up. I was also chastised in a pee taking manner for having the audacity to look at something (sorry for taking an interest) . Also when my son brought things up at first he was listened to but soon the guide ridiculed him too; I guess in an attempt to shut him up. 20 years ago this behaviour was wrong , its certainly not to be tolerated now! Let me also say I'm not one to complain and I'm not easily offended and neither is my wife but the attitude needs to change. The group was not made up of 1970s miners ! In summary, the management need to stop this close contact and allow people to put on their own belts. The 1970s humour needs to go. The guides need to be more professional and respectful and not belittle people. We left having wished we had not visited .

This is a good place to visit. Great value, great time and great people. There are not many museums where you truly experience the real thing in a real place amongst great people who really worked in the industry. Coal was a critical part of our energy mix over hundreds of years and although it is no more, it is an integral part of our history. The library is a unique treasure trove of information with a small but very dedicated staff.

Prebooked tour beforehand. OMG Steve our tour guide was very friendly and knowledgeable (yes helps he used to work the mines). My family and I really enjoyed going down the mines and learning it's history and how hard they worked (woman worked harder than the men when they were allowed down and worked the mines) Tour lasted 1 hour . Had a train ride but sooo much to see and not enough time as we didn't arrive until 2pm and it closed at 5pm. Loads for kids to do. We donated £7.50 x 5 adults to museum. What a great educational place and recommend a visit for young to old. Toilets scattered around and nice and clean. All staff jolly & very friendly.

A must visit place, hands down. We did the underground tour with kids and it was amaszing, interesting and fun. The tour guide was an ex miner and he was very knowledgeable and entertaining. You need at least half a day to see it all. I can´t wait to go back again.

Excellent museum with very friendly staff and excellent down the mine tour

What a great experience this was. Not a planned visit, just passing but so glad we decided to stop and take a look. Parking was £5 and that enabled a visit to the museum. You could walk around all the exhibits and use all the facilities, which I think was incredible value for money. Once through the entrance we realised there was an optional underground tour available, so went back to reception to inquire, £7.50 gave you a mining tour, going down the mine shaft. Too good to pass up we paid the extra and joined the tour. Ian Joe was our guide and what an amazing experience it was. From beginning to end it was packed with information, Ian had been a miner for over 30 years so it was first hand and really heart felt. The tour is not as flowery as some museums can be, it's quite gritty and you can feel the hardship which I think is really important. We loved every aspect, the gentleman talking in the steam pump room was so informative and passionate, really engaging. It's a great day out, whether you pay extra which I strongly recommend or not you will love it. The miners strike exhibit at the very beginning was so moving, reading the quotes, I found it quite difficult and so sad, these historical moments in time must never be forgotten. So many snippets of information came from the tour guides giving a perspective that you would never be able to experience without them. There's a cafe if you want to buy food or picnic areas if you want to bring your own. A very memorable day... Thank you!

I went with my 9 yr old niece and 5 ye old son, Steve was our tour guide in the mine and would rate him higher if I could! He was fab, he was so clear with the kids when it came to instructions but made it fun aswell! All staff members we came across during the day were so warm and welcoming. Would definitely go back!

Wonderful place to learn all about mining in England. You can go down into a real coal mine, with a real elevator. Very nice!! Be sure to book your ticket in advance. There is also a steam-powered elevator. The men there are only too happy to talk about their machine.

So glad I did this, I've wanted to visit a mine for years (I'm from the mining region in Belgium) but didn't dare, the calm, relaxing personality of the guide Ian Joe won me over, thanks Ian Joe!! The scenes are very beautifully created and the guide's enthusiasm was infectious. My English is not great, but I still understood at least 80% of the entire explanation, which I also consider an achievement of the guide. Highly recommended!!!

A very special place: educational, touching and fun at the same time. A definite must-see. Plenty to do for kids as well. The "Victorian Gallery" I found a bit scary (the voices and child mannequins gave me a jump scare). But of course rightfully so: mining in the Victorian age was terrifying. So much to see and experience: I'd advise to really make a day out of it.

Amazing place to visit to find out about our heritage in the mining area's. Lovely to see what it's like down the mine and what it was like throughout the era's. Very knowledgeable guide for our underground tour, even though we couldn't understand his very Yorkshire accent. 🤣

Brilliant day out, I'd recommend it it anyone. Beautifully preserved site and very helpful staff with masses of parking on site, and lots to see and do. Read the instructions about what to wear if you are planning on doing the underground tour, it is quite chilly at the bottom of the main.

Nice and very interesting place thank dean for the tour

Wow what a wonderful way to spend a few hours. All the staff and the museum itself are wonderful very friendly and welcoming. The children’s play area is great and well maintained. We had a fabulous trip underground and our guide Dean Wogan was brilliant he is an asset to the museum he made our day ! Highly recommended!!

Excellent underground tour led by ex-miner for an authentic personal view on coal mining and its history.

Brilliant tour around the mining museum my children really enjoyed it the insight to the working conditions over the years very interesting to listen to the tour guide show us around was funny and explained everything my children loved hearing about it all definitely looking forward to visiting again in the future 😊

Went today with family fantastic day out we went on underground tour it was absolutely amazing and are tour guide gaz made it really interactive for kids they loved it really educational I would highly recommend it

Friendly staff, lots to do even the rain went for 3 hours and still not seen everything

Some of the most warm people I have ever meet the staff are so wonderful it's out of this world

Amazing experience with even better tour guide, loads of history and getting to experience some of the type of work done in the mines throughout history was amazing, 100% recommend!

We visited the Coal Mining Museum for the Arts Festival. Everyone was very welcoming, from the guys at the gate on arrival to the servers in the restaurant. The event organisers and helpers were friendly. We tried the circus activities, the art doodle table and placard making. We had a great day out, my daughter loved the adventure playground. Didnt do the pit tour, or go underground - but we did explore and saw the showers, baths etc Would recommend as a day out and we would do the Arts Festival again if it happens.

Fantastic museum, with informative underground visit giving insight into how working in a coal mine changed over the years. Would highly recommend.

Brilliant experience, did not feel claustrophobic or cold. Enjoyed every minute.

Went for a classic car show. Cafe was a bit pricey but the food was really nice

Great place to visit with your family young and old. You have to be over 5 years to go down the mine however there is plenty to do and see on the surface. Lovely cafe serving food and drink. Fantastic play areas. Little train that runs up to an adjacent site with a further playground/sandpit in summer.

Lovely day out. Had a tour underground as well . Defo recommend for the family 😊. Has a great play ground for the kids as well.

What a brilliant day we have had at the museum ( 29/06/24), we came to play with the brass band , and we were allowed a brilliant tour underground, the men were all absolutely fantastic….., friendly , funny, informative and so knowledgeable ( understandably , all being former miners themselves) giving us an insight into how hard this job that fed our country’s power for so many decades was , even in recent years let alone historically, thank you

We had seen this place advertised on tv and thought we would give it a go as my grandad was a miner...wow we did the mine tour...our host was martin...what a fantastic insight in to mining through the times..the tour guide martin is a amazing guide...made you feel a ease..funny had good communication with the children..put things across for the children to understand and getting them to join in with the tour...well recommended..

Awesome visit , staff were fantastic especially the tour guide Alan!

Amazing! Coming from a mining family, this was an outstanding experience. I am looking forward to returning to see the rest of the open air site.

Being a miner it's a great place to go i enjoy the visit

Brilliant. Just like going back down again but for no pay!!

Things here to entertain kids as well as adults. The underground guides being ex miners are very knowledgeable. Very good restaurant.

Great day out at the "Bold as Brass" competition

Great day but we were at the brass band day not in the mines. Cafe was OK.

Our underground guide Dean was brilliant and very knowledgeable Would recommend this place to anyone well worth a visit Well done all nice friendly staff

Great day, we all went down pit. Colin was an amazing guide and very informative

Had a brilliant day here today. The underground tour was amazing learnt so much and the tour guide was so knowledgeable and had fun with the adults and kids. We will definitely be going again. Fun filled day out that doesn't break the bank.

Amazing museum and grounds, but the tour of the mine was something else. Absolutely fascinating and incredibly eye opening. Dean (our mine guide) was excellent, and possibly the most Yorkshire man I've ever met

Having left Maltby in 1995 being a face fitter it was unbelievable I did it for so long as it was quite tame, no noise,dust, smells. I loved my time underground and would do it again. Camaraderie can only be matched by being in the army we were like a big family.

Excellent underground tour with Colin who is very knowledgeable about mining and its history. Lots to see above ground as well and a nice cafe. A lot more than expected in visiting this place, would recommend.

This was a very interesting museum, the guide (Col) we had under ground was brilliant, Very knowledgeable made the tour very interesting and he was funny too, I would definitely recommend this museum, please support it. We had sandwiches at the café they were very good and not expensive. Brilliant day out. The museum is free, but they ask for £7.50 when you book for the underground tour, this is refundable but I would suggest you don't ask for a refund as the money helps keep the museum open. Book the underground tour online this is very easy just go to the website

A great museum with friendly knowledgeable staff. Most of the attractions are free but there is a cost to do the underground tour (well worth it). The mining exhibits are very interesting and there is also a nice cafe, good adventure playground, nature trail and a short train ride. Going down into the mine is a fantastic experience.

Fascinating place - lots of social, political and industrial history - great underground tour with (young) Joe, who also showed us some fossils afterwards - well worth a visit

Was far more than I expected. Ran out of time to get through everything. The tour down the shift on the head gear was an amazing experience. The lads are very passionate about their former employment and pass that across with a very knowledgeable tour and experience. Always happy to stop and chat and tell you stories.

Lovely day out lots to see excellent guides full of knowledge I didn't do an underground tour, but the boys did, and they loved it they said it really made them understand the rest of the museum.

Definitely recommend this place. There's so much to do. We had an underground tour with Dean, he was amazing. Great knowledge and managed to keep my 2 young kids fully engaged throughout the tour. There was a child who wanted to leave mid tour, Dean handled it so well! We then had a reed bed tour with Ian, which again was so interesting. 100% recommend a visit here

Visited today with the children, 5 and 13 and we all loved this place. Totally recommend the underground tour, it's really engaging and informative, a real eye opener. The venue is really well presented. There's more to do than you'd think and the day flew by. More than anything else, the staff were absolutely lovely! Thank you all, we'll be back again.

What an amazing place this is, the staff are wonderful and predominantly volunteers!! The former miners are proud of their heritage and we should all see where our 'not so distant' past had in store for men, women and children. I went today to find a newly laid disk in the memorial garden, I couldn't find it and a kind gentleman (staff) went out of his way to find it for me. 😊

Great guides who are extremely passionate and enthusiastic - ex- coal miners, having a from the horses mouth experience was amazing.

More mining attractions, activities, and charitable fundraiser donations

Been before, but went to see the miners strike display.... considering all the stories and stuff around, found the exhibition disappointing, for something that was so big in the north of England.

We recently visited England's National Coal Mine Museum and had an unforgettable time. The National Coal Mining Museum of England is a well-preserved and rich museum that vividly displays the history and development of the British coal mining industry. During the tour, visitors can take an underground tour and explore the maze of tunnels and chambers where miners once toiled. Under the explanation of the tour guide Colin, we had a deeper understanding of the dangers and hardships of the coal mining industry. Colin's explanation was very professional and he had a deep understanding of the history and technology of the coal mining industry. He uses vivid language and rich examples to vividly show the life and work of coal miners before our eyes. Thanks Colin for the best explanation and hard work, it's amazing. It was the most extraordinary experience. The underground coal mine tunnels left a deep impression on us and our two children, and we said we would definitely come back. I would like to say a huge thank you to the counter staff at the Coal Mine Museum, they were fantastic and made our visit to the Coal Mine Museum even more exciting. It's a fascinating and educational experience. There are also places for outdoor play and small tourist trains. The surrounding area is very vast and there are many places for tourists to enjoy.

A very interesting place, an interesting place for a family holiday, after prior reservation you can visit the underground part of the museum, under the care of a guide who tells stories in a passionate and interesting way about the history of mining, the opportunity to take a ride on a mining train, I recommend it to everyone

Loved it here! We had booked the underground tour, and it was truly fascinating - and Gaz(? if thats how you spell his name, sorry!) was a really funny guy, showing us around and explaining everything well - the nature path was lovely as well, highly recommend!

Amazing museum. An incredible insight into the mines from machinery and tunnels to the miners and other roles in the mining industry. This museum fully details things like workers rights back in the 1800's to strikes and even gives us an insight into child labour. There is a nice park your young children will enjoy, also a cafe (I recommend the cherry scone). This museum also holds events for home schooled children and has different themes at different times. We had a fabulous day out at the national coal mining museum and we look forward to returning soon!

Lovely to go down pit, tour guide very knowledgeable and ex miner. 120m down, no battery or cameras. Great fun.

Fantastic place. I've been here many many times it's a fantastic place for adults and children. The mine tours are brilliant, they take about 2 hours. But just going to have a look around grounds is a great day out. Best of all is free entry!! There's a big playground, a natural trail, ponies, a cafe and a museum. They often have great events. Lantern parades, brass bands, walks, children's workshops...all sorts!

Happened to be passing and called in. We were not disappointed. the site is well looked after and you can tell a lot of time and effort is made to keeping it nice. Good parking and well signposted attractions around site with interesting facts along the way. Dog friendly in outside areas was a welcome bonus - he enjoyed the nature trail to see the Ponies immensely. The staff were very welcoming and couldn't do enough to help. The train ride is a must just fir the entertainment provided by the drivers. Cafe provided good quality food at a reasonable price. if you've never been, definitely call in for a visit it's well worth it and will provide a good few hours entertainment- just remember to log your arrival at Reception to help with their funding as this helps keep the place going. Still can not believe its FREE to visit. Well done to all involved, you're doing a cracking job.

Lovely day, friendly and helpful staff on reception, and Martin our pit tour guide was very funny, interesting and incredible with children

Fab place to visit. Underground tour now costs, but well worth it.

We had a fantastic visit yesterday 24th. April 15.15.hrs.our tour guide was Dave who accompanied the party of 10 underground It was well organised and very informative .... a real experience and one not to be missed if you visit the museum

The museum is free but you need to book in advance to have a guided tour of the mine. Probably the most authentic museum experience I've ever had, very engaging and insightful.

This venue is well worth a visit. The staff are knowledgeable, experienced and make the visit fun. Little Joe loves his job as do his colleagues. The man in the Winding Room was very patient with all of our questions. Interesting but a sobering experience.

Excellent work from all the team, keeping our coal mining heritage alive.